Weight Loss Solutions Australia - Innovative Management in Health Care Industries

Name of Organization / Company: Weight Loss Solutions Australia, Varsity Lakes, QLD Australia

Category: Award for Innovative Management in Health Care Industries - Up to 100 Employees

Entry Title: Transforming the lives of thousands of Australians by offering long term lifestyle modification

Essay

WeightLoss Solutions Australia (WLSA) transforms the lives of thousands of Australians by offering the latest in bariatric procedures and holistic patient care which ensures long term lifestyle modification. Since 2000 we have pioneered the weight loss industry and continue to do so through extensive research programs, innovative procedures, and thought leadership, all geared towards tackling the growing obesity problem in Australia.

Innovative achievements resulting from our management include:

1/ Growth management

The business has more than doubled in volume in the last 5 years and after a recent merger deal we forecast we will double patient levels from 800 to 1500 per annum, making us the largest weight loss clinic in Australia, and with this we are anticipating enormous financial growth in the next 12 months.

2/ Organizational management

Prior to the merger we had a team of 14. Post the merger we have an additional 10 staff coming plus 2 doctors plus a surgeon. Having in- house doctors and surgeons will dramatically increase our capacity and our profit margins, as to date we have operated with contracted doctors and surgeons.

Due to the merger we have also expanded our tenancy and have plans to expand to other capital cities of Australia.

3/ The promotion of innovative practices

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do and in the past two years we have implemented several initiatives which have had a significant impact not only on the direction of our business, but the industry at large and the global obesity epidemic.

For example, frustrated by the way the Australian Government is currently addressing childhood obesity in Australia, we partnered with Bond University to develop a 12- week multidisciplinary program called GRIT (Growth, Resilience, Insights, Thrive) aimed at children aged 9 to 15 years.

The first of its kind in the world, the GRIT Project is a collaboration by various experts who share the same mission: to tackle childhood obesity.

We are also constantly connecting and collaborating with the research sector, medical and tourism industry to do everything from sourcing funding for collaborative research projects, source new medical suppliers, discover new approaches to procedures and more.

For example we secured a federal Innovations Connections grant for our ENdoscopIc Sleeve Gastroplasty Efficacy (ENvISaGE) study which aims to determine procedural safety, change in body composition, comorbidity risk factors, and quality of life in obese adults undergoing ESG or LSG combined with 12- months multidisciplinary follow- up.

In terms of pioneering with procedures, when it was launched in Australia, the Orbera balloon procedure was not very well understood and surgeons I approached were reluctant to perform it. At my insistence, the surgeon who works with me is now one of the leading trainers for this procedure in Australia. We now routinely offer this procedure as part of our bariatric suite of interventions.

4/ Leadership/Brand

I presented at the International Federation of Surgical Obesity (IFSO) in Dubai in 2018 exposing our brand to a global audience. Several of our team attended the Australian & New Zealand Metabolic and Obesity Surgery Society (ANZMOSS) conference in Melbourne in 2018 and this year have been asked to speak at it, such is the strength of our brand in the marketplace.

Our staff are also encouraged to connect and collaborate with other businesses, partnerships or community sectors. One of the ways we do this is through strong use of social media.

We have the largest weight loss Facebook page in the world (27,000) and a very active private Facebook support group. We also have a significant twitter presence - everyone has own handle and are responsible for driving this and we are very active on Facebook and Instagram. We now live in an online world so we connect with patients where they want to be connected with.

LINKS:

URL 1: https://www.wlsa.com.au/

URL 2: https://www.wlsa.com.au/grit/

URL 3: https://youtu.be/kYONh5kKeJA

URL 4: https://www.wlsa.com.au/blog/

URL 5: https://www.facebook.com/WLSAust/

URL 6: https://www.wlsa.com.au/webinar- on- demand/

URL 7: http://labelmagazine.com.au/weightloss- solutions- australia/